Heavymetal Butterfly
by Melody-chan
Summary: Yay! New Chapter! Meike and Duo have a fight and Quatre can't stand his loss. Heavymetal Butterfly: Focusing on a German teenager named Meike Schwartz, on the newly established Deutsche colony. A bit of romance, mostly action/adventure. Please R&R!
1. A Peace of Mind

Prologue:

Chapter One: A Peace of Mind 

The black branches of transplanted colony trees shone dark against the fading light. The newly established German colony spun lazily, rotating in the twenty-four hour time of Old Earth. Even though the dimming skies were peaceful, the scene below was not.

In front of a small house nestled deep in a neighborhood of New Berlin; Meike Schwartz and her parents fought a hopeless battle against the growing number of Vampires. Surrounded by the undead, they had no real escape. To retreat back into their house was to let the dark creatures lay siege upon them, slowly starving them to death. To flee into the expanse of deserted streets would only isolate them from any support. So, they fought, striking again and again with the deadliness of desperation and the calm of the knowledge that they were doomed, and they were losing.

With a small grunt of effort, Meike Schwartz ducked a blow from a Vampire, long brown hair flinging outward from her face, and swung her leg out, tripping it. It fell to the paved road with a thud, and she leapt across the small expanse of ground to shove a long shard of wood directly into its chest. The Vampire disintegrated into dust, which the colony's induced wind scattered in all directions, but Meike didn't have the time to watch. She was already evading the attack of another Vampire, dodging and punching with deadly accuracy. She could hear her father, Ute behind her, a long silver sword in his hand, the whistle of the blade singing through the dusk.

Her mother Micheala was armed with a small black pistol. The metal bullets couldn't kill Vampires, but they could hurt them long enough for her daughter or her husband to dispose of them.

Meike was losing track of time. The darkness of the night seemed to creep in slowly, and her body was weary beyond belief. She had never gone this long against a foe. A long sword came cutting through the air towards here, moving almost in slow motion, and she ducked beneath it. Twirling, she threw her leg out and slammed her foot into the Vampire's chest. Leaped across to stab him with her weapon. Leaped away as another attack came at her. Punched it in the face. Jumping backwards. The stake in its chest. Ducking another blow. Over and over and over, until finally she stumbled, hesitated for a fraction of a second too long.

Abruptly, time came rushing back. The sense of slowness she had felt was suddenly gone as the Vampire brushed the petite sixteen-year-old aside with its arm in contemptuous ease. She collided with the solid wall of her home, and her head spun as it cracked against the unyielding surface. She was going to die. She could see the Vampire arching its long sword for the fatal blow, simply watching her as the blade came slashing down towards her throat.

A sharp pain told her he'd succeeded. Her neck felt as if it was on fire, and she could feel the slow trickle of warm blood on her chest. But why wasn't she dead? Why was she still sitting here, looking upwards to the darkening sky?

Gunshots filled the air. The roar of motorcycles surrounded her head, and her weary mind insisted she look. Dimly Meike tried to focus. She could make out motorcycles, and figures on them, striking down the dark creatures that had overcome her city. She could perceive a figure running towards her, hear, vaguely, her father's frantic voice, her mother's high-pitched scream. The combination of a possible concussion and blood loss blackened the scene before her, and she slipped away into unconsciousness.

__

That's our house's ceiling. The thought came unbidden, without warning, and with total surprise. _Am in Heaven?_ Meike blinked, and the ceiling fuzzed. Blinking again, it came into focus, and she tried to sit up. Her throat throbbed with a dull ache, and she felt the white bandage around it like a brace.

"Dad?" she asked, struggling and propping herself up against pillows. "Mom?"

There was nobody in the room. The house was completely silent. There was only a note on a small wooden table beside the bed. _What room am I in?_ She asked herself. The room was barely big enough to hold her bed and the table, and on the wall beside her was a small, wooden panel. Shaking her head to clear the fog that still hung over her eyes, she reached for the note.

__

Meike,

You won't find us here anymore. Your mother and I have to go. You must stay here and recover. Your neck is only a scratch, our rescuers managed to prevent him from totally decapitating you, but you have a medium concussion, and it could develop into something serious. The room you are in is a secret service room I had built years ago, when we first moved in. I am in such a delicate part of the government that it was a required precaution. Underneath the bed will be food and medicine in case you worsen. Behind the panel is a computer. You already know how to work it. You must _stay here until you are fully recovered. Do not leave the house. You will not be discovered unless you are careless and reveal your presence. We will come back for you._

Your mother and I love you always, Marzipan.

Daddy

Meike's eyes blurred_._ She was left alone in her home, without the reassuring presence of her parents, to fend for herself. The cruelty of the universe smashed in on her, and a sense of isolation overwhelmed the exhausted teenaged girl. With a soft murmur she slumped back onto her pillows, the letter slipping from her hands and falling to the floor. Unnoticed tears slid down her cheeks as she lost herself in the dark comfort of unconsciousness.

Three Months Later

The bunks were dark this time of night, pitch black except for the light glow of a computer screen. In front of it sat a somber, brown haired boy with cobalt eyes, reading. His eyes flitted back and forth, scanning the email for the true purpose of the letter.

Abruptly his blue eyes narrowed. A predatory smile crossed his lips for an instant, and he quickly erased the message for safety precautions. Standing up, he crossed the room in lithe strides and flipped the bunker light's on.

"Argggh!" came a bedraggled noise from one of the sleeping figures. "Turn the lights off, you crazy nut!"

"Wake up!" The somber fifteen-year-old called. "We have a mission to perform."

"At this time of the night?" the same sleeping figure called back. He was lying on his front with his arms dangling over the side. "I don't think so, Heero. It's not happening." Heero Yuy stalked over to the boy and yanked his covers off. The cold air that was always present in the small bunk gusted through the barren room, and Duo Maxwell jumped and sat up quickly as the icy air touched his bare skin. His shirt was sleeveless and wrinkled, and the young pilot rubbed his arms in a frantic attempt to warm them up. 

"Dammit, Heero, I'm freezing!" Duo exclaimed, and snatched his covers back. His long brown hair was in disarray, strands framing his normally cheerful face in a tangle, and a patch of hair was sticking up on his head awkwardly. He glowered at Heero with violet eyes.

"Didn't we just go to sleep?" mumbled Quatre Raberba Winner sleepily, starting to sit up in his bed. His blue-green eyes were squeezed tightly closed as he yawned, and platinum blonde hair tumbled away from his fingers as he ran them through his bangs. "It seems like just an hour ago…" he trailed off, tossing aside his blanket and standing on the cold wood floor. With another yawn he began to pad softly in his sock feet to another bunk.

"It _was_ an hour ago!" Duo cried indignantly, grabbing his digital clock with both hands and shaking it violently. The clock rattled irritably, and the glowing red numbers flickered for a few moments, then disappeared. "Great! Now my clock is broken! This day just keeps getting better and better." Duo exclaimed, and he flung the clock against the wall with an offhand toss, where it shattered from the force of his throw. "But it's _not_ a day, is it? It's the middle of the night!" Duo dropped back onto his bed with a groan and stuck his hands in his hair.

"Calm down, Duo." Chang Wufei said calmly from beside his own bunk. He pulled a sleeveless shirt on over his bare chest, ruffling up his chin-length black hair. "We're on call." The Chinese teenager rummaged through his bag and produced a small black elastic, pulling his hair back and tying it in a short ponytail.

"Besides, you've been wanting something to do. You were complaining just yesterday about the lack of excitement." Quatre pointed out as he leaned over Trowa Barton's sleeping figure. "Come on, Trowa. We've been assigned." Quatre poked Trowa in the side. "Wake up, Trowa." Trowa mumbled something – an unusual response for the solemn pilot - and tossed his blankets to the side and stood up. He began pulling on his jeans without a word, and Quatre returned to his own bed to dress himself. Duo shook his head and decided to ignore Quatre's logic. Swinging his legs off the side of the bunk, he reached underneath the bed and groped for his clothes. His fingers encountered his normal white shirt and black over shirt, but no pants.

"Damn! Where are my pants?" he cried, fishing around with a renewed effort. He jumped off the bed and kneeled on the floor in his boxers and sleeveless shirt, shivering uncomfortably and swiping frantically around under the bed. "My pants! Where're my pants?" Duo yelled, his voice taking on a slightly frenzied quality. Then suddenly, without warning, he froze. He stood up and pointed a finger accusingly at the group of Gundam Pilots. The other four pilots looked back at him in obvious confusion. "One of you has my pants." He said, eyes narrowed. On his bunk, Trowa combed his hair out in front of his face and cocked an eyebrow at Duo.

"Why would we want your pants?" he asked mildly, the one green eye visible from behind his hair expressionless. His brown hair obligingly smoothed itself forward and he ran a hand over it. Duo tilted his head slightly and stared inquisitively at the Latin pilot.

"Why don't you tell me? I want my pants!" His voice echoed slightly in the small, empty bunker. Quatre shook his head and uttered a small giggle. Duo shifted his accusing gaze to the small Arabian teenager. "So _you've_ got them!" Quatre shook his head no and, grinning, pointed silently at the bunk above Duo's. His blue-black pants hung there, swaying slightly, as if mocking the American. Duo grumbled angrily and snatched them off the bunk, pulling them on over his boxers. The five pilots returned to their silent process of dressing, and a few minutes later, were all ready to go.

"Gundam time!" Duo cried cheerfully as they made their way through hallways to the Gundam hangar. His previous mood had dissipated with the thought of destroying more MS, and the American pilot nearly skipped as they reached the reduced gravity hangar. With a grin he launched himself into the air, flipping end over and end and landing neatly beside the hatch of his Gundam. "Beat that!" he cried victoriously, opening the hatch and turning to give the other pilots a wide grin. Wufei, Heero and Trowa ignored him, and Quatre gave him a small smile.

"Don't encourage him," Heero hissed at Quatre as the blonde-haired boy waved politely back at an energetically waving Duo. Duo made a face at Heero.

"I heard that!" he shouted down at the Japanese pilot, and with a flip of his head and a toss of his braid he disappeared into his Gundam. Heero shook his head disapprovingly and followed suit. A low roar filled the air as the Gundams rumbled and began the process of waking up. Minutes later only the echo of thunder remained in the docking bay.


	2. The Arrival

"All RIGHT

Chapter Two: The Arrival

"All RIGHT! I don't care _what _you say, Quatre, this is fun!" Duo screamed wildly as Deathscythe Hell, under his instruction, ripped apart an OZ MobileDoll. 

"How can you find killing another human being fun?" Quatre asked severely, his boyish face frowning over the communications screen.

"The MobileDolls have no human controllers. They're entirely computer operated." Duo pointed out while slicing a MS to shreds with his Gundam's scythe.

"But destroying is not something to be enjoyed." The earnest young Arabian persisted. "It is only needless violence, and I wish I was not needed up here, fighting."

"Right." Duo replied sarcastically. "That's why you, the _gentle_ one, have destroyed more MobileDolls than me, Heero, and Trowa combined." Quatre looked startled as his blue-green eyes scanned the hard kill input, and then pretended he hadn't heard Duo's comment.

"Look, there's a colony up ahead." Trowa called to his fellow pilots in his normally soft voice. He shifted his Gundam so that the viewing screen brought the colony fully into his sight. "That must be OZ's target." A small flip of controls and thrusters began to bring the Gundams closer to the colony.

"Hey, has anybody noticed that Wu-chan hasn't spoken since we set out on this mission?" Duo commented out of the blue. "If he hadn't killed so many MS, I wouldn't know he was even here." 

"Do you have any idea just _why_ OZ had targeted this specific colony?" Wufei told him, anger hiding just beneath the surface of his calm voice.

"They just do," Duo shrugged. "Why should we care why they attack places? It's just our job to stop them."

"Be realistic. It's too far for them to capture and use for production, and it's too small to pose a significant threat to their operations." Wufei continued. He pursed his lips and looked thoughtfully at the colony ahead, uncharacteristically lost in thought. Without seeming to notice it, he murmured, "I hadn't thought they would be so bold…"

"Who would be so bold?" Quatre asked, frowning. "It's not really unusual for OZ to target colonies." Wufei looked at him with a start.

"Not OZ," he began just a little bit harshly. "Others. Those from the legends…" again he trailed off in nothing, his mind working furiously though his face betrayed no sign of his inner turmoil.

"Legends? Have you lost it, Wu-chan?" Duo asked dubiously.

"When I was five, Master O took me aside and began to train me in martial arts unlike any that the civilized colonies have ever seen." Wufei said, still looking lost as he stared into the depths of space. "This was the training for those destined to take the long, hard path of a Hunter. I was taught me how to hunt and kill Vampires." He glowered at the colony. "On that colony, there are cities full of the innocent, being preyed upon by dark creatures thought by many to be only myths. Few know that Vampires are a star-traveling race, hunting down and consuming their weakest prey, growing in size until they have sufficient numbers to take on larger and larger targets. OZ wants to just destroy it outright, to rid the stars of them forever, but there are innocent citizens on there, and I won't let them. Vampires cannot be so easily destroyed. Besides, this is a Vampire Hunter's job." His face set into hard lines and he stared stonily at the giant mechanical wheel in space. 

Silence ensued. Finally, Duo couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing and began to pound his fist on the control panel of Deathscythe Hell, accidentally sending a missile off into the depths of space, where it detonated some light years off. Duo didn't seem to notice, and if he hadn't been strapped into a chair in a Gundam, he'd have been rolling on the floor with convulsions of laughter.

"V…V…Vampire Hunter?" Duo laughed hysterically. "Oh, man, that's hilarious! Oh my…" Duo began to shake with laughter, his eyes wide as he clutched at his stomach. "VAMPIRE HUNTER! THAT'S SOME PRETTY FUNNY SHIT!" he roared.

"I'm dead serious." Wufei said calmly, that eerie thoughtfulness still playing around him like an aura. Duo cut off in mid-laugh.

"Wu-chan? You feelin' okay, man? Maybe you need a doctor or something." Duo said in a worried tone. 

"You'll see." Wufei replied, still remarkably composed. Then he activated the communications system and hailed one of the OZ MobileDolls. "Relay this message to OZ, code VH1: You will discontinue your attack immediately. Retaliation will be swift if this is not complied with. Authorization: Chang Wufei." All the Gundam Pilots stared at AltoLong Nataku. Even Heero was staring agape at the seemingly sanity-challenged Wufei. Trowa sucked in a quick, startled breath, and Quatre gasped as the MobileDolls abruptly turned around and headed away from the colony.

"Oh. My. God. They turned around. They _turned around_. Wufei, are you on OZ's side? You can't be serious about this Vampire stuff. It's nonsense." Duo said, his face a shade paler than usual.

"As I said before, I am dead serious." Wufei shook his head. "The colonists require my assistance."

~*~

The doors of the colony spaceport hissed open to the black of space, revealing a poorly lit docking arena. A few ships were stationed at the large, multi-ship ports, but most were seemingly abandoned. The hustle and frantic activity customary to such a large port was nowhere to be seen. In fact, there wasn't a least bit of movement anywhere.

"Spooky." Duo said aloud, his voice soft. The five Gundams drifted in slowly, settling down at different stations, their titanic bulks dwarfing those of the remaining ships. In silence, the pilots went through docking procedures, soft clicking and tapping filling the intercoms as automatic commands were sent and processed.

"This doesn't look safe," noted Trowa as he surveyed the dark bay. "I'm going to stay with our Gundams, for safety precautions." Duo contemplated making a stab at his courage, but her knew the Latin pilot was really more concerned with the safety of their Gundams than he was about his own personal safety.

"Wilkommen an Bord." A surprisingly pleasant mechanical voice received them in German as the four teenagers stepped out of their hatches and floated gently down to a walkway. Quickly grabbing hold of the railing, they propelled themselves towards the lobby doors, Heero turning and giving a solemn wave of acknowledgment to Trowa.

"Well, almost there, Wufei!" Duo said cheerfully, breaking the silence with a laugh. Wufei nodded imperceptibly and stepped forward, pressing the small red button beside the door so they could enter.

Nothing happened.

"Huh." Heero stepped forward with a frown and pressed the button a second time. An ominous rumbling could be heard from the doors, but they still remained shut.

"Dammit!" Duo roared, slamming his foot against the door with all his might.

With a protesting creak and a load groan, the doors slid open to reveal the empty lobby.

"After you." Duo gestured for Quatre and Wufei to enter with a sweep of his arms and a mock bow. The four pilots filed into the lobby, spreading out to explore.

"It's _cold_," Quatre shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. His breath made small clouds in the frigid air. "What's _happened_ here?"

"It has all the signs of an abandoned colony," Wufei mused, pressing a finger to a bulkhead. When he brought it away, it was covered in dust. "Three months, perhaps. Maybe more, maybe less."

"How can you tell?" asked Duo, absently scrawling his name across the dusty metal.

"It doesn't matter," Wufei shook his head. "Let's get going." He crossed the room and walked down a dimly lit hallway that bore a green arrow, an obvious sign for an exit.

None of the pilots heard to soft breathing hidden in the shadows of the alternate hallway. Its breath framed a pale face in a mist, dark eyes shining with reflected light. With only a soft brushing of cloth, it whirled around and disappeared farther into the darkness.

~*~

"Oh, _shit_." Meike uttered a venomous curse under her breath and crouched in the shadows, trying to flatten herself against the wall at her back. Less than twenty feet away, a Vampire stood, its nose lifted to the air. _Why do they have such a good sense of smell?_ Meike wondered absently around the haze of fear that encased her mind. The shadows weren't going to help her any if it caught hold of her – 

"Argh!" the Vampire roared in triumph, wheeling directly towards her. With another curse, Meike launched away from her hiding spot, straining for a head start. The Vampire gave chase.

__

Dammit dammit dammit, Meike thought viciously. _Idiot, idiot, idiot._ Her feet pounded the ground in rhythm to the words in her head. _Faster, faster, faster._ Her breath came in short gasps as she frantically increased her pace. _I think I'm losing him!_ The though rang in her mind as the echoing footsteps behind her slowly faded away, and her feet seemed to get lighter with the knowledge. The building were just whizzing by, blurring with her speed.

__

Speed? She snorted inwardly. _That's your _head_, genius._ Her head was throbbing, and her vision was blurring. The lump on the back of her skull was beating a heavy staccato right into her brain. _Right around the corner. Home is just right around the corner._ She forced her feet to keep their pace. _Shouldn't have gone out, you knew you weren't completely recovered…_ Her neck now bore a small, thin white scar, but the back of her head was still tender and running made her dizzy.

And she was running for her life now. _I swear, I won't go out again for six months,_ she promised herself fervently as she rounded the last corner before her street. _Maybe even eight. Twelve even sounds– _

"Oh, _fu-_" She skidded to a stop two houses down from her own home, breaking off the expletive before any of the twelve Vampires surrounding her house could hear her, but it was too late. One of the Vampires caught sight of her and turned with a yell, pointing. The others grinned maliciously and started for her. Behind her were the steps of her previously encountered Vampire.

Meike broke right, dashing away from the evil creatures as fast as she could go. _You're going to pass out,_ she told herself almost giddily. _Wouldn't that be funny? Falling over on the ground and just _letting_ them get you._

She ignored her own twisted humor and ran faster. The city limits of New Berlin weren't that far away, and if she got there - well, she didn't know what she'd do if she got there. There wasn't anything there that could really help, anyway. _Unless the keys of one of the transport trucks is still there_. She knew how to drive. Well, sort of. She watched her mother drive all the time.

The thought of her mother – her parents – made her wince with a sharp pain in her chest. She hadn't known she could miss a person – people – that much.

Shoving those thoughts from her mind, she concentrated on running. Farther and faster she went, blood pounding in her ears, and she was certain the back of her head was going to burst.

A small building loomed in her hazy vision, framed by a large expanse of nothing but tall grass, waving in the artificial colony wind. Several small trucks sat beside the building, all red as with the white emblem of Government Transport. Risking a glance backwards, Meike saw that the Vampires were still following, but were perhaps a hundred feet away.

Desperately she dashed between the trucks, peering in the windows and checking the seats and ignition for the keys.

"Score!" she cried, flinging open one of the trucks' doors and leaping inside, twisting the key in the ignition. The truck roared to life, made with reinforced steel and the latest technology from Old Earth. It wasn't just a truck – this was an assault vehicle.

Slamming her foot down on the gas, Meike jumped as the truck shot forward with incredible speed. It tore over the field of grass like a demon, mowing down the weeds like they weren't even there. Despite her terror, Meike whooped and shouted as she rode the truck across the plain. At this speed, it would take her a little less than ten minutes to reach the other side.

A glance in the rearview mirror showed her two identical red trucks racing after her, two Vampires in each. She grinned and stuck her tongue out at them. They couldn't catch her now.

The truck swerved and Meike shifted her view from the mirror to the plain in front of her. It wouldn't do to kill herself in a rollover after escaping.

With an almost carefree attitude, she switched on the radio of the truck and started blasting the first station she found. It was an interstellar radio, broadcasted directly from satellite to satellite from Old Earth itself, and the music was definitely strange, but it had a good beat, and she sang as loudly as she could. Her head wound remained a distant pain as the truck sped across the grassy field.

~*~

"Argh! It's a damn maze!" Duo shouted, beating one fist against the wall. "Where the hell _are_ we?" He pouted cutely, glowering at the impassive steel walls.

"For the love of _God_, Duo, please shut _up_." Quatre complained loudly, sticking his hands in his hair and groaning. "We didn't know the last seven times you've asked, so how would we know now?"

The American pilot was taken aback at Quatre's peeved tone. The Arabian pilot was hardly ever anything but friendly. _I must _really_ be annoying right now, _he thought absently. He lifted one hand and let his fingers trail the cold metal idly, preoccupied with rather startling thoughts. _Startling thoughts, eh, Duo?_ He asked himself mentally. _Yeah, I guess they could be called that. Who would've known that cheery old Duo Maxwell would lose his nerve?_ His eyes darkened at the thought. _Lost your nerve. That's just a fancy way of saying you turned _coward_. You're a coward, Duo. Face it. You don't have the heart to stay a pilot._

Angrily Duo shook his head, brown bangs flying around his frowning face. The thought of killing more people was beginning to sicken him. In the beginning he had been cavalier about going out and fighting for the good of mankind, roaming the stars with his Gundam and righting wrongs where he went, but now.. Now it was only needless violence, and hurting others seemed to almost… hurt _himself_. And still his battle-driven mind taunted him, mocking him with words of cowardice and fear.

And _still_ he put up his cheerful façade, pretending for the others that Duo Maxwell, the self-proclaimed god of death, was still alive and kicking… when in truth, he was really six feet under. And while it was also true that Duo always retained his hard, sharp-minded killer's focus that surfaced during each and every battle, it just wasn't the all-encompassing mindset he had acquired during his more… grimmer years of piloting.

It also wasn't like him to walk along in silence, pondering deep thoughts, either. Duo shook off his dark thoughts and exclaimed with a cheery laugh, "More and more hallways! We could starve in here, you know." His outburst startled Quatre nearly out of his wits, and the blonde boy sent Duo a pained look. Duo flashed him an apologetic smile and shrugged.

"Ridiculous." Heero snorted. "All we need to do is find a way out."

"_All_ we need to do," Duo mimicked, then shook his head. "Oi, Hee-chan, how do you propose we _find_ such a way out?" He sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets, giving a dark look to the wall beside him. 

"Assuming there is one."

~*~

"Ow." Meike muttered out of habit as the back of her head hit the truck roof for what seemed like the hundredth time. Her cheery mood had dissipated once the level, grassy field had become a tumultuous plain of scattered rocks and hidden ditches. "Isn't there supposed to be – "

The truck abruptly skidded across grit and gravel as it shot onto a sudden expanse of hard pavement. Meike clutched at the wheel, forcing the truck to stay on the road.

" – a road out here somewhere?" she finished, shaking her head. Glancing into the rearview mirror, she saw the single red truck still following her. The other one had encountered an extremely deep pitfall in the middle of their journey across the field, plunging into a hole and swallowing the entire cab and part of the truckbed. The thought of her truck vaulting so quickly into an unexpected ditch made her shudder, but she'd pushed the thought out of her mind and continued.

Now that she was on a flat surface, she floored the gas pedal and practically leapt across the ground. Where she was going, though, she still didn't know.

__

I can just drive on and on until I lose them, she thought absently. _Or until I run out of gas._ She straightened up with a sharp cry. _How much gas do I have left?_ Glancing at the meterstick, her heart plummeted as she realized she was practically on empty. As if to spite her, the little arrow dropped another fraction of a centimeter right as she watched, nearing that glaring, ominous green 'E'.

__

Trash that, she thought morosely. _Last ditch is: the Spaceport. Insert threatening music here._ The huge black building that touched all the way to the colony ceiling loomed not too far away, separated from her by a large expanse of black parking lot.

"Brace yourself, Meike," she whispered out loud, not really hearing herself. Behind her, the other truck accelerated across the pavement. The black building grew closer and closer.

With a tremendous squeal of tires, Meike slammed her foot down on the brake, shoving the stick into park and leaping out of the cab. The instant her feet hit the ground she sprinted away, praying that the doors were open.

She flung the door open with such force she nearly hit herself, dancing backwards and into the dim, cool hallways.

~*~

"That way." Heero pointed down another hallway, just as indistinct as the last one. Wufei nodded.

"How can you _tell_?" Duo asked, a plaintive note of whining in his voice. Heero permitted himself a small smile. Duo was really getting frustrated at Heero and Wufei's silent agreement to keep the pilot in suspense as to where there were – and how close they were to an exit. The solemn Japanese pilot found a little bit of sadistic glee in seeing his annoying, chatterbox friend _being_ annoyed. Not that he would ever admit it. 

"We've been down _eighteen_ flights of stairs already," the braided pilot moaned. "I'd think we were in the basement if we hadn't passed that about _ten floors ago_." Duo grabbed his long brown braid and began plucking at the ends, sighing forlornly and trying to elicit sympathy from Quatre. Quatre, however, was in no mood to give sympathy.

"We shouldn't have left Trowa," the Arabian pilot fretted. "Why don't we go back and get him? He shouldn't be all alone back there. What if something happens?" Quatre tried to hide his growing concern for the tall, Latin boy, and failed profoundly.

Heero, as well as Duo and Wufei, knew that Quatre and Trowa were lovers. However, Quatre didn't know that _they_ knew, and kept valiantly laboring to keep their partnership a secret. _They _are_ a cute couple,_ Duo thought rather fondly. He himself had contemplated many a time a similar relationship with Heero, or possibly Wufei, but always dismissed the thought. _You are indeed walking the straight and narrow, my friend,_ he told himself cheerfully. And how he enjoyed it, too! He chuckled softly at the many times he'd ended up at the receiving end of a slap.

"I bet something's happened," Quatre continued, looking as if he was about to start gnawing on his nails. "I bet some of those Vampires have attacked and-"

"I thought you were against gambling," Duo interrupted. Quatre gave him a withering look.

"That's not the _point_ here, Duo." He said. "My point is that Trowa is all alone back in the docking bay, and what with all of Wufei's Vampires running around, they could have _done_ something to him." His young face was caught in a frown that made him look years older.

"Calm down, Q-chan." Duo made a show of yawning profusely. "Tro-chan is going to be fine."

"Shhh!" hissed Heero from ahead, motioning for them to stop. "I hear something." Echoing footsteps could be heard from a hallway nearby, accompanied by heavy, gasping breaths.

"It could be a Vampire," Wufei growled, placing a hand on the wooden stake at his side. "Be ready…" The seventeen-year-old boy crouched a little bit, backing up against the wall as the footsteps came closer.

"Oomph!" Duo let out a startled gasp as the footsteps thundered around the corner and a brown-haired girl hurtled into him. He skidded backwards with the girl huddled on top of him, arms thrown around her small form, coming to stop with a faint thud against the wall.

More footsteps came from the hallway, and a tall, burly Vampire skidded to a stop as it rounded the corner. It was followed by another smaller, but still formidable Vampire. Instantly Wufei sprang into action, whipping a long sword out from its sheath and twirling it towards the taller one's head, skillfully decapitating it with a single stroke.

"Nein!" cried the girl as the smaller one tried to turn and run, leaping out of Duo's arms and rushing it towards it. She nearly ripped off the stake attached to Wufei's belt as she rushed past him, flinging herself at the Vampire and bringing him down. A twist of her arm sent the stake down into its chest, and it burst into a pile of foul-smelling dust. "Unnhh," she moaned as she dropped through the suddenly empty space beneath her onto the floor, her shoulder taking the brunt of her fall. She curled up around herself protectively and tried not to cry.

"Oh, my God!" Quatre cried as the strange teenaged girl let out a painful cry. He ran forward and knelt beside her, reaching out and gently placing a hand on her shoulder. The girl retaliated and shrank back, moaning again.

"Let me," Duo said, shouldering his way past Quatre and carefully turning her onto her back. Soft gray eyes blinked up at him; a shroud of dark brown hair draped across her face. "What's your name?" he asked her. The girl blinked. 

"Sprechen sie Deutsche nicht?" she asked him. Duo shook his head. 

"No Deutsche," he told her.

"English. Okay," she said, closing her eyes. "My name is Meike Scwartz." Her voice was heavy with a dark German accent.

"Meike. Got it. Now, what's wrong with you? What hurts?" Meike gently placed one hand on the back of her head. "A bump on your head?"

"Concussion," she said softly. "Three months. Not better. Got worse." The German girl gritted her teeth as Duo's probing fingers encountered the tender spot of her head. He brought his fingers away sticky with blood.

"We need to get her out." Heero said firmly. He looked at Wufei. "You can lead us out?" Wufei gave him a sharp nod. Duo nodded as well, gathering Meike in his arms and standing up. Her head rested gently against his shoulder, and she tried to stop the hot tears brimming in her eyes.

"That way," Wufei directed, setting off at a more hastened pace. His three fellow pilots followed silently.

~*~

Meike slowly realized exactly where she was. She was being carried along by a strange, English-speaking boy, who she had slammed into minutes before. The back of her head was a dull furnace, throbbing with pain, and she winced involuntarily as the boy's steps shook her just a bit.

"Does that hurt?" he asked her, his dark amethyst eyes meeting her gray ones. She looked silently up into those beautiful violet eyes, and the boy shook his head. "I'll try to walk smoother," he told her, and she simply nodded mutely.

"Set her down there." Meike heard one of the other boys – this one with a faint Japanese accent – direct her boy to lay her down on a row of airport chairs. "Wufei, this is the lobby, there should be a medical office somewhere. You take Quatre and try and find it."

"I think I know where it is." The boy he had called Wufei answered, a small Chinese accent coloring his words. "Come on, Quatre."

"Let me up," Meike said as she struggled to sit up, the boy who had carried her trying to make her lie down again. "I need to see."

"All right, all right," her boy told her in an amused tone. "We've got ourselves a feisty one, I see."

__

This one is definitely American, Meike thought to herself. _There's no mistaking that kind of voice._ She gave the American boy a dark look, and he chuckled. "At least we don't have to worry about you collapsing. Now hold still." He extracted a small white handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the back of her head. It came away stained with blood, and Meike's eyes widened.

"_Was_?" she asked, looking at the cloth. "When did that…?"

"Hey! Heero! We've got some supplies!" Wufei and a blonde boy came running across the lobby, the blonde boy's voice lilting with an Arabian accent.

"Oi, Q-chan!" her American boy waved cheerfully. "You have any painkillers?"

"Right here, Duo!" Q-chan held up a small white box Meike recognized as a MedKit.

"Let me see it." Meike said firmly. Duo gave her a skeptical look. "Like you'll understand German," she told him crossly. He laughed again and took the kit from Q-chan and handed it to her. "Bandages, and some painkillers." She muttered as she extracted things from the bag. The American took the bandage and began to wrap it around her head. Meike quickly swallowed the two painkillers as well.

"Now." Said Heero. "We need your help."

~*~ 

Fifteen minutes and a short explanation later, Meike was asleep across the spaceport chairs, knocked out from a combination on painkillers and exertion. The Gundam pilots were trying to hold a soft conversation a few meters away.

"She's a liability," argued Wufei. "We can't bring her along – she's hurt, and she's weak."

"So you propose leaving her here?" Duo flared. "To fend off Vampires by herself?"

"Of course not. We just need to leave her in the care of others that _can_ defend her and themselves." Wufei replied.

"We still bring her with us, though." Quatre reminded him. "From what she's told us, there's not a living person around the Spaceport for a couple of miles. It's abandoned."

Wufei pursed his lips. "You're right," he conceded. "But we leave her with someone after that. We can't have her around."

"I'm in no position to argue," Meike said, sitting up. "But I'll show you to where the Vampires have been meeting. It's a sort of headquarters for them. After that, you'll be free to leave."

Heero nodded. "That's best," he concluded. "We'll go from there."

"But for _now_," Duo interjected, "We sleep. Meike here is about to collapse, and we haven't gotten any sleep since the night before. We need to crash too." Taking his own advice, he stripped off his outer shirt and made a pillow of the black material, curling into a semi-comfortable ball. After a few minutes of arranging for suitable resting-places, the other pilots settled down as well. Almost as an afterthought, Duo added, "I hate airport chairs." Meike snorted softly and drifted off to peaceful slumber.


	3. A Pilot's Demise

Chapter Three: Heavymetal Butterfly

Chapter Three: A Pilot's Demise

Heero awoke quickly, knowing exactly where he was. Years of training had left him waking completely alert and ready to fight… and the only one up, as he surveyed his still-sleeping companions. Noiselessly he sat up and placed his feet on the floor, stretching silently – something he never would have done in front of the others.

Then he froze, as he caught the silvery glint of Meike's gray eyes. She lay quietly watching him, eyes half-open but nonetheless awake, and Heero cursed himself. _Not the first one up after all…_ he thought, then lowered his arms.

"Wake up," he called disinterestedly as he turned and gathered up the small blanket he had found the night before… _Night?_ He asked himself, glancing at the afternoon sunlight spilling through the huge glass windows of the spaceport. It had been early morning when they had gone to sleep. He shook his head, then crossed the small expanse of tiled floor to lay the blanket beside the medkit.

"Unnnhh," Duo said intelligently, raising a hand to block the bright light. "Sleeeep…" Quatre rose a few chairs away and tried to smooth out his wrinkled clothes.

"I am not a morning person," he muttered half-heartedly as his pink shirt stubbornly refused to lay flat. His hair looked similarly messy.

"Somebody help me." Meike's calm voice shook Duo out of his sleepy half-awareness as the German teenager tried to stand and failed.

"Whassamatta?" he asked groggily. She threw him a withering glance.

"I just felt like not walking today. Sometimes I get like that." She told him, rolling her eyes, and then wincing as her head spun. "Dammit…"

"Oh, okay, I get it now." Duo blinked rapidly and chased the sleepy fog from his eyes, realizing her concussion still made her dizzy with movement. "Don't do anything yet, we need to give you more painkillers." He fetched the medkit from by Heero's deposited blanket and fished around. "Lessee, yesterday they were in a blue wrapper… here." He took the small package of pills from the kit and handed them to her, along with a bottle of mineral water they had found left in the cabinet. She gulped the pills quickly and handed it back.

"Thanks," she told him quietly, and Duo could barely catch her words.

"Where do we go from here?" Wufei asked, coming to stand by her side. Meike glanced up at him.

"The Vampires have assumed temporary headquarters at the Government building in New Berlin, my home city," she told him. "I can take you there, but I can't walk." Her gray eyes were serious.

"We'll get Trowa to bring the Gundams back, and take those." Heero told her, and Duo stifled a grin when he saw the brief flash of pure joy cross the Arabian pilot's face for an instant. Meike's face remained still, but her mind was puzzled. _What's a Gundam?_ She wondered. _Who's Trowa?_

"Good, that's cool." Quatre struggled to maintain a diffident air. "Are we leaving now?"

Wufei gave him a look. "Of course not," he said. "Only one will go back and get him. The others will stay here with Meike and wait."

"Oh, okay then." Quatre said eagerly. "Can I go?" Duo rolled his eyes. He was about to open his mouth and say something that would turn Quatre bright red, but Meike spoke before him.

"Can I be outside, at least?" she asked, pointing out the windows to the parking lot and a small expanse of rich grass. "I haven't been outside in so long." Her gray eyes were sad and troubled.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want." Duo grinned easily and offered her his hand. "I'll take you out. As a matter of fact, why don't we all go outside? Just for a bit. Get some fresh air. Then we can send someone back for Trowa." He snickered at Quatre's crestfallen face.

"Fine." Heero said indifferently. Meike and Wufei nodded as well, and the former grabbed his hand. Duo pulled her up to his side, wrapping an arm around her small waist, and was surprised to see her blush. He cocked his head and frowned, but she avoided his gaze, and he shrugged.

~*~

Outside the air was warm and a slight breeze drifted through the air. Unseen birds twittered from the distanced trees across the parking lot. Meike breathed the air in deep and let out a small sigh. _I haven't been outside in so long,_ she thought happily, _and you couldn't really call that truck chase relaxing._ She sighed again and leaned heavily against Duo's shoulder.

"I can't believe this is the same colony," she said softly, looking out at the waving grass. "God, a week ago… three months ago… it was all so _different_…" Wufei looked at her solemnly.

"The Vampires have caused that much damage?" he asked her, and his dark eyes became troubled.

"Well, I haven't been outside in nearly three months, but last I heard, the Vampires had taken control of the government facilities. They now control artificial weather, gravity, light, life support, etc. Whatever they've done in the past three months might not be obvious right now, but it will be soon." She told him frankly.

"Damn! Why haven't you been outside in three months?" Duo exclaimed. Meike grimaced.

"It's not important," she told him. "All I have to do is get you guys to what the Vampires have been using as an official headquarters, of sorts, and then you can get back to whatever it is you normally do."

"But three months!" Duo exclaimed again. Heero gave him a warning look, and Duo wilted. "All right, no harassment… but I intend to find… what's wrong?" Duo's charming face frowned in concern as Meike shrank back against his shoulder.

"Something's coming," she whispered, eyes wide with fear. "I can hear it."

"Huh?" Quatre asked, then looked up as the almost inaudible humming became louder. 

It filled the air and seemed to throb against Meike's eardrums and unwillingly, memories of her fight… her near death… came flitting through her memory. The noise had escalated into a load roar and Meike bent her head, fighting tears, as the pulse that seemed more felt than heard matched the one at the back of her head and she felt herself collide with the wall again and again.

"Jesus! Meike!" dimly she heard Duo's voice, but it was slipping from her, his violet eyes shining through the invading blackness, fading from sight, and the roar was filling her ears and her head and her heart…

~*~

__

"Come on, Marzie, use your wrists." Her father's crystal blue eyes were smiling as Meike held the sword, heavy and weighted in her hands.

"Yeah, yeah, my wrists." She rolled her eyes at him and twirled the blade and positioned it neatly just above her shoulder, gripping the handle with practiced ease.

"Now try again." Her father instructed. The sword lifted from the space beside her ear and she let herself fly.

~*~

"Why isn't she waking up?" Quatre's voice was filled with concern for Meike. Duo shrugged.

"Why did she pass out in the first place?" he asked a bit sharply. He looked toward the five Gundams a short distance away. Trowa stood on the open hatch, watching the four pilots and the teenage girl, but not climbing down. "Oi! Trowa, man! Come on down!" Duo waved cheerfully but the Latin boy simply stared back at him.

"Mein kopf…" mumbled Meike from the ground. "Ach, mir ist so kalt…" her body curled up and uncontrollable shivers suffused her body, and Duo shook her in growing panic while tremors of alarm escalated through his mind.

"Hey! Meike! Wake up!" he yelled, rocking her back and forth roughly. "Now is _not_ the time to have a breakdown!" The girl let out an barely audible of protest, but it went unheard by the American pilot.

"Shut up already, Duo." Duo glanced up into dark eyes as the Chinese teenager grabbed his wrists. Wufei looked back at him calmly. "She's awake."

"Though whether for better or for worse I could not tell you." Meike muttered as she struggled to sit up. Duo sat back and flushed. Rubbing her temples, she slowly opened her eyes to the unwelcome sunlight.

And promptly screamed as the huge Gundams loomed in her view. Tales of boogeymonsters and things that go bump in the night flitted across the front of her brain.

__

Calm, her mind insisted. _Be calm. _Her body stubbornly ignored her logic and she scuttled backwards even as she realized the massive structures in front of her were machines. Breathing heavily, she forced herself to stop and glared at the thin, lanky boy posed atop one of the machines.

"Just give me a heart attack, why don't you?" she yelled at him, then gripped the gravel beneath her fingers as pain swirled through her mind. The boy looked down at her in contempt she recognized but could not put a finger on.

"Trowa! Hey, Trowa!" Quatre's voice sang through the air, and he waved exuberantly at the tall pilot. "Come on down!"

Heero glanced at the silent pilot. Something didn't feel right. He was a warrior, bred to ruthless efficiency and taught to trust his instincts, and right now his instinct were screaming that something was deadly wrong.

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Wufei announced, mirroring Heero's own thoughts. Beside him, Meike was struggling to sit up.

"That's not right," she whispered. "I know that. I know him. I know the way he's looking at us." Duo frowned at her.

"It's probably your head still," he said. "Or the medication."

"No!" Meike yelled. "Let me up!" she forced herself to her feet, ignoring the beating pain in her head, and stared up at the still silent Trowa, who had just begun to disembark his Gundam. "It's wrong! It's all wrong!"

"Stop it, Meike!" Duo said. "You're only making yourself worse!" Trowa was now on the ground and pacing forward towards the pilots, and Meike's sense of dread grew. To her left, Heero's eyes were narrowed.

"That's not Trowa." He uttered. Duo threw him a shocked look.

"Whaddya mean?" he asked. "How could that not be Trowa?" Heero ignored him and shouldered past the American pilot, followed by Wufei and a staggering Meike.

"Quatre, don't go near him!" Heero shouted as Quatre dashed forward, unable to contain his happiness at seeing his lover again. Quatre paused and looked back. "Get back here!"

"Quatre." Trowa startled the blonde teenager as he placed a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder. Quatre involuntarily shivered.

"Trowa, you're so cold," he whispered, turning and enveloping the Latin boy's hands with his own. "You're _freezing_!" His aqua blue eyes were shocked, uncomprehending.

"Quatre!" Meike shouted. "_Get away from him_!" Her mind screamed at her as Quatre ignored her and looked, innocently, into Trowa's green eyes and stiffened.

"You're eyes!" he yelled in panic. "Trowa, your eyes! They're… they're black! What has happened to you?" He raised trembling fingers to Trowa's solemn face, and jerked them away when Trowa smiled, suddenly and viciously.

"More than you could ever understand." His voice was deep and rumbling, nothing like his soft-spoken norm, and with a disgusted brush of his hand, he shoved Quatre away and onto the ground. The small blonde lay frozen with shock on the pavement.

"I don't think so," Wufei called as Trowa advanced on the other four teenagers, drawing a silver sword from the sheath at his side. "The undead have claimed another."

"Claimed could hardly describe it," Trowa laughed. "Sure, I resisted at first, but when it was all over, it was beautiful." His hard, dark eyes scanned the pilots in contempt. "You'll understand eventually."

With a sharp hiss the other four Gundam hatches hissed open to reveal four more Vampires, stepping out and watching with burning black eyes.

"Dammit." Meike said, plunging a hand into her jeans and wrapping fingers around the cold hard metal of her own gun. She pulled it out and fished in the other pocket, retrieving a small black box of ammunition.

"Whoah," Duo said, eyeing the gun, but Meike ignored him and focused on one of the Vampires. A silent command sent the other four jumping to earth and racing towards the group of teenagers, ignoring Quatre lying frozen on the cement, and Wufei leapt forward with his blade.

The following five minutes were chaotic as Meike hastily tried to line up for a shot to the heart, but the Vampires were moving too quickly, and Wufei was getting in the way. Trowa and his companions had produced sword similar to Wufei's and were fighting back ferociously, with the added advantage of inhuman strength. Wufei had already disposed of one, and as she tried to perfect her aim, Heero killed another, but that left three.

Her shot rang through the air and the gun jumped in her hands as she let off a hit, but the bullet only buried itself in one of the Vampire's arms, doing little harm. It snarled and shook off the temporary pain, and behind it, Wufei decapitated one more Vampire. It was only Trowa and one more companion left.

Then it was only Trowa, surrounded and outnumbered by four angry teenagers, sword held high. And Wufei hesitated to attack.

"What are you waiting for?" she yelled at him as he stepped forward apprehensively, and Trowa grinned.

"I'm more skilled than he is," the Heavyarms pilot gloated. "And he knows it."

"Skill counts for nothing when I've got a gun!" Meike shouted in response and pulled the trigger. And pulled it again, and again, and filled Trowa's chest with as many bullets as she had in the sleek black barrel. His astonished face looked straight at her for one instant, then flickered and dissolved away into dust. Duo looked shocked.

"How did he… just evaporate?" he asked, shifting so the dust wouldn't coat his black boots. Meike tossed him the black ammunition box and leaned against the wall with fatigue.

"Wooden bullets." She told him, sliding down the wall and resting at the bottom. "I made them in the beginning, when we stood a chance." She closed her eyes. "Get Quatre."

Duo turned sick eyes to his friend on the ground. "God, how is he going to take this?" he asked softly, but the wind that blew across the parking lot and scattered the remains of what was once his friend had no answer.


	4. 

Chapter Four: Acquisition

Chapter Four: Heavymetal Butterfly

"Dammit, this really sucks," Duo announced as he strode towards Quatre. "Wake up, Q-man. Rise and shine."

"He hit me." Was Quatre's numb response, and Duo grimaced.

"You're fine, man. My Q-man can take a little roughing around. Now get up, okay?" Duo pulled Quatre up to his feet.

"I need to sleep." The blonde teenager looked sick. "I need to lie down and just sleep."

"We just woke up an hour-! Okay, sleep it is." Duo relented under Heero's glare. "We'll take you back inside-"

"Sandrock. I'm going to be with Sandrock." Quatre insisted, and Duo rolled his eyes but obligingly helped Quatre to his Gundam and to the hatch. The Arabian pilot didn't even look back as he disappeared inside, and the hatch hissed shut.

"Well, what do we do? We have a day – or what's left of one – to waste." Duo said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What are going to do with Trowa's Gundam?" Heero asked, looking thoughtfully at Heavyarms. "We can't slave him to our Gundams, that will waste so much energy we won't have enough to get off the colony."

"Leave it here?" Wufei suggested, frowning. None of the pilots liked the idea of abandoning a Gundam.

"I'll fly it." Meike said calmly. Duo looked askance at her.

"In you condition? With your experience? I don't think so." He announced dubiously.

"I will. You need a pilot. I'll do it. Show me the basics and I'll be flying as well as any of you." Her gray eyes hardened, and her German accent became a bit thicker. Duo recognized some of Heero's stubbornness in the girl as she stuck her chin out. "Or maybe you're afraid to let a lady at the controls, because she'll show you up." She challenged, and Duo flushed.

"All right then," he said recklessly. "You get the Gundam. Heavyarms is in pristine condition – Trowa kept superb care of his Gundam. You get yourself up in the hatch and inspect the controls. I'll be along in a little while to help you." Heero stiffened and Wufei nearly shouted as Duo handed over the possession of the Gundam.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Wufei yelled furiously. "She's an inexperienced German _female!_ Women don't fight, let alone fly Gundams!"

"I fight just as well as you, you asinine chauvinist pig!" Meike snarled at Wufei, her pride bruised. "If you need proof, I'll give you proof, but unless you know exactly what I can and cannot do, you had better keep you judgmental little sexist bastard opinion out of it!" Wufei jerked back.

"I am a warrior!" Wufei cried, nearly turning purple. "I have had _enough_ proof that women are not fighters!"

"Well then welcome to the real world, because you're about to get something different." Meike voice was low and thick with half-enunciated vowels, her native language nearly consuming the English. She turned towards the Gundam muttering obscene things in German.

As she climbed the hatch, she felt her hand brush against something soft and furry. To her surprise, a small green caterpillar was inching its way up the Gundam. She gently cupped her hands and took it off the machine, bringing it inside the Gundam with her.

Once she had gotten inside Heavyarms, she set the little caterpillar down by the control panel and collapsed into the pilot's chair with all the grace of a deflated balloon. Her head throbbed with a horrible ache and her body was sore beyond belief. _I hate this,_ she thought painfully, her eyes brimming with tears. _I hate Wufei and I hate these Gundams and I want to go home._ She closed her eyes tight and let darkness wash over her. _Maybe this time I won't dream_, she thought as she drifted out of consciousness.

~*~

__

"Meike!"

"Dad?"

"Meike, where are you?"

"Daddy, I'm right here, I'm over here! Come and get me!"

"Meike! Meike, answer me, please! Marzie, where are you?"

"Daddy, I'm right here! Why can't you hear me, Daddy?"

"Meike…?"

"Don't go, Daddy!"

"Marzie…"

"Daddy, I'm here, please listen to me! Daddy, please…"

~*~

Meike awoke with her cheeks wet. "Daddy…" she whispered out loud to no one, blinking away the salty tears. The Gundam's dim interior, lit only but panels of buttons and lights, was silent but for the hum of life support.

Panels. Panels that controlled the equipment of the Gundam. Meike sat up and shoved the dream out of her head, focusing on the display in front of her. _So this is a Gundam,_ she thought, excitement building up. Her hands began to explore the controls, reading the labels and watching what happened if and when they were pressed.

Meanwhile, Heero was having a private conversation with Wufei.

"She has no idea how to fly the Gundam. We have no idea how it will respond to her." Wufei said angrily. "It's a risk to us, to her, and to the Gundams. She has no experience and she'll ruin that Gundam."

"Anything we do will have a risk, Wufei. We can't keep the Gundam on slave mode and have it follow us the entire mission. That'll wear out the internal battery, wear out our batteries, and that'll leave us with NO Gundams. We can't leave it here, because the colonists – or the Vampires – will take it apart for construction. Or they'll use it to attack someplace else." He told Wufei. Wufei opened his mouth to speak, but Heero spoke again before he could say anything. "You're also letting your dislike color your opinion of her abilities. Just because she's female doesn't mean she's incompetent." Wufei's features turned ugly with hate as he forced himself to accept that fact.

"Maybe I am not fond of the concept of women fighting." He said, gritting out the words with effort. "But the fact remains that she has had no experience with a Gundam. She's not fit to fly it."

"Take a look, Wufei." Hero turned and switched on the Gundams' visual links, and in both teenager's Gundams a small viewing screen materialized. In it was Meike, eyes intent, fingers dancing across the panel. Wufei straightened.

"She'll ruin it!" he started to cry, but the shout died on his lips as Heavyarms began to power down.

"She's methodical, and if she keeps that up, she'll be able to fly it. Not well, but she'll fly it nonetheless." Heero said. Wufei nodded slowly.

"I underestimated her, as well as you, Yuy." Wufei said, then cut the link to WingZero.

Inside of AltoLong, Wufei stared at the screen in front of him, still troubled. The German girl was smarter than he had thought, if she could decipher the basic controls within thirty minutes of entering a Gundam. Sighing, he switched off the viewing screen and settled back, waiting for Yuy to sort out his thoughts and inform them of when and why they would advance.

"I've got to learn to control this." Meike whispered softly to herself. Then she giggled. "Why am I whispering?" she asked out loud.

"Not a valid question." A calm voice answered her, startling Meike out of her wits.

"What? Who's that?" she whirled around in her seat.

"I am Heavyarms." The voice replied.

"For the love of God, don't _do_ that." Meike breathed. "You're Heavyarms' voice?"

"Yes, I am." Heavyarms replied.

"Well, I'll have to find a new name for you eventually." Her gaze fell on the little caterpillar she had brought inside. It was beginning to spin itself a cocoon, attached to a protruding piece of metal. "Heavymetal Butterfly," she said. "You'll be Heavymetal Butterfly."

"Heavymetal Butterfly?" the former Heavyarms queried.

"Yeah, Heavymetal Butterfly. Save that. You're not Heavyarms anymore." Meike's face was glowing as she contemplated the dangerous machinery at her fingertips. _The sort of power that can wipe out an entire colony of Vampires,_ she thought coldly, and her smile was a predator's.

"Changing names already?" Duo asked over a communications line. Meike was glad to see he wasn't holding a grudge for her insult. Then she blushed.

"Yeah, changing names. Meet Heavymetal Butterfly, Duo." Meike announced. Duo shook his head.

"Welcome to the team, Meike. You might regret this later, but welcome aboard anyway." Duo told her.

~*~Fin~*~

Author's Note: Okay, I know some of you are wondering, 'What is Quatre gonna do?' because I haven't addressed that much. But it'll be there come next Chapter, don't worry your pretty little heads. ^-^"

Daitryk: What? Cliché? Never. ^_- I try not to be predictable. It originally started out as a fluff fic – a parody of Buffy made into Gundam, in fact (Wufei/Buffy the Vampire Slayer). But when it hit Chapter Three it got a little un-fluffy. So I turned around and did a little reconnaissance work.

Spanish Eyes: Oooh, spiffy name. It sounds exotic. Well, I was practically glowing after I read your review! Somebody loves my ficcy! ^-^" I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

As for more… well, it's not going away for a long time. The entire fic was written (well, most of it!) over last summer and I've got about twenty chapters written but not re-read and fixed up for posting. So it's continuing, you betcha. As always, I love reviews and will reply to them. (Obviously!) Adios!


	5. Regrets

Chapter Five:

Chapter Five: Regrets

"Where's Trowa?" Quatre's voice was bleak and his face looked pale and gaunt. Meike jerked her head up as the Arabian teenager's face filled her viewing screen.

"Oh, God, Quatre," she said softly. "I'm sorry I'm in here, it's just-"

"Where's Trowa?" Quatre asked louder, his voice taking on a note of panic. "Where is he? Why are you in Heavyarms?"

Meike looked wide-eyed at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. A brief period of silence passed between them, and Quatre turned white.

"I am no longer the Gundam Heavyarms. My new name is Heavymetal Butterfly." The synthetic Gundam's voice spilled out of the speakers after the standard time delay and Quatre nearly choked.

"What have you done?" he asked, huge aquamarine eyes brimming with tears. With startling abruptness, his face disappeared as he cut the connection.

"Oh, dear God." Meike murmured, and rested her head on the control panel of the Gundam.

"What's wrong?" Duo's concerned voice filled her ears and she looked up with sorrow on her face.

"Quatre just asked me where Trowa was," she told him, and Duo's face contorted in pain.

"I'm sorry," he told her, and left her alone in her newly acquired Gundam.

~*~

"Dammit, dammit, dammit to hell." Duo swore venomously as Meike's face left his screen. "Heero, how are we going to deal with Quatre?" Duo asked as he slammed his hand down on the communications for Wing Zero.

"What do you mean?" Heero asked, looking away from his Gundam updates and meeting Duo's panicked purple eyes.

"Quatre just gave Meike a call, expecting Trowa." Duo sighed, rubbing his forehead. "He's probably broken down in Sandrock. He has no idea…"

"I'll tell him." Heero's voice was level as ever, but behind the cobalt eyes was pain for his friend. "Keep an eye out." Heero's face disappeared, and Duo sighed.

In his heart, Quatre's pain hurt him almost as badly, but he found himself distracted by a pair of luminous gray eyes.

"Dammit, Duo, this is not the time to go chasing after girls…" he groaned out loud to himself. A roar suddenly filled the cockpit and he leapt forward and switched on the outer visuals. Quatre's Gundam was arching up into the air, heading directly for the colony spaceport.

"What the hell?" he yelled, switching on communications for all the Gundams. "What's that fool doing?"

"He's going back to Earth. He's going to need time." Heero said blandly. Duo sank back in his chair.

"Another pilot down." The American muttered. "Ye Gods, this is bad."

"How bad?" Meike questioned.

"There are only five known Gundams," Duo explained. "We've just lost two."

"You just gained one, too!" she flared, and shot a warning look at Wufei, who was preparing to yell.

"You need training." Heero said flatly. "You can't deny that." Meike looked furious.

"Leave me alone with this Gundam for one hour and I can do nearly anything you can." She said hotly, and Duo snorted.

"Doubtful!" he said. "You'd need at least a month to get it up in the air!"

"I thought you'd think that," Heero said. "So you will help her learn."

"WHAT?!" Meike and Duo cried in unison.

"After he just insulted me?" Meike asked.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Duo yelled.

"That's an order, Maxwell." Heero said. "There will be no discussion." His face blinked off of the screen, and Duo groaned.

~

"This here activates the Gundams primary batteries," Duo explained to Meike, pointing to large red button. "After that's been activated, you move to control, checking each system," he indicated a row of green lights above Meike's head. "When those are all green, you shove this handle forward, and the Gundam gets acceleration. To steer, you use these handles on the armrests."

"Got it." Meike began going through the sequence Duo has just explained and listened as the Gundam shook and roared to life. With a sharp push she shoved the controls to maximum and the Gundam fairly leapt into the air.

"Aaaaa!" Duo shrieked as he was thrown to the back of the Gundam. Meike whooped in delight. "You're going to kill me!" the American teenager struggled to pull himself up.

"Let's go, Heavymetal!" Meike cried delightedly. Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "What, you scared?"

Duo's violet eyes hardened. "Of course not," he snapped. "I can handle anything you throw at me."

"That sounded like a challenge," Meike noted mischievously. "I think I'll take you up on that." Behind her, Duo's face turned a shade of white.

Meike cry of joy nearly matched the whine of the engines as she let the safety go and switched the machine to turbo. She chased the horizon and left Heero and Wufei gaping far behind, racing for the pure and unadulterated delight that coursed through her veins. Within minutes she could glimpse the line of shadow moving far ahead across the colony – nighttime.

"I can catch it," she said, eyes narrowed, and somehow managed to coax more speed out of the Gundam than any of the Doctors would have ever thought possible. The dark line ahead of her crept ever so slowly backwards. 

"I am soooooo good!" Meike roared in delight as she caught up to the line of darkness and flirted back and forth on the edge. Abruptly she shot the Gundam into the air and rolled it a couple times. Then she let out a startled "Eep!" as Duo landed on the control panel above her head as she hung upside down in the air.

"I happen to be in here still." He told her dryly, and she stuck her tongue out.

"I hadn't noticed." An expert flip of her wrist sent the Gundam skidding backwards, still upside down. Duo was starting to look a bit green around the gills.

"Put it down," he yelled. "Put it down!"

"Sheesh, you big baby." Meike muttered.

"Turn it right-side up!" Duo shrieked, his voice filled with frenzied panic. Meike rolled her eyes and flipped the Gundam back over, the huge vehicle coasting across the colony landscape towards Wufei and Heero. Duo thumped onto the control panel in front of her and she gave him an irritated scowl.

"Get off! I have to fly this thing!" She yelled, and forcibly hauled him off the instrumentation. He hit the ground will a dull noise and a soft groan, and Meike looked at him apologetically.

"Sorry, babe." She said. "Gotta fly." Duo closed his eyes.

A few moments later the high-pitched whine of the engines shifted from a turbine howl to a low roar as Meike slowed the Gundam. It settled down to the ground with all the precision of a bird, and Meike felt a hot rush of pride as she saw Wufei and Heero's astonished looks.

"I don't feel so good," Duo moaned as Meike unstrapped herself from the pilot's chair, and she bent over him in concern. 

"Let's get you outside." She said decidedly, wrapping her arms around Duo's chest and pulling him to his feet. Leaning heavily on her shoulder, he staggered to the hatch and sank down as cool, fresh air kissed his face.

"What's wrong?" Wufei yelled as he saw Meike stand up and peer over the edge of the hatch. "Where's Duo?"

"He couldn't take it!" she cried jovially, and the looked more seriously back the American teenager. "Seriously, Duo, I thought you _could_…" Duo pushed himself up and waved aside her hands as she tried to help him stand.

"Don't worry about it," he said gruffly. "I'm fine."

"Duo…" she said, biting her lip as he crossed the hatch and began to lower himself to the ground. Once he reached solid dirt, he crossed to his own Gundam and boarded without a look back. Standing up, she whirled around and disappeared inside the hatch of her own Gundam.

"We leave for New Berlin in five minutes," Heero told her tersely as she settled herself into her seat, his face silent and immobile as always over the Gundam's communications.

"Okay." She said softly, and cut the communications. Then her head dipped and she banged her forehead against the instrument panel before her. _Stupid, _she thought scathingly. _I'm sure Duo will fall head over heels for you now that you've made him violently sick and practically beat the crap out of him, as well. _Her vision blurred as she realized she was crying. "Weakling," she said out loud, scrubbing her eyes with her fists furiously. "Get a move on."

It was in a dark silence that she brought the Gundam fully online once more and followed Duo, Heero, and Wufei towards her hometown.


	6. Spritual Healing

Chapter Six: Spiritual Healing

Chapter Six: Spiritual Healing

"Heero, something's wrong." Duo's worried voice startled Heero. "Whenever I try to contact Meike, all I get is a picture of landscape rushing by and silence." Heero frowned, and flipped the visual switch to Meike's Gundam.

"She's good." Heero said a bit begrudgingly. "She already learned how to fly the Gundam, which is an amazing feat, and now she's rerouting visual connections and blotting out sound. But there's one thing she doesn't know about." Heero reached up and flipped a small, unnoticeable switch. Meike's face appeared on his screen, but from a different angle.

"She's… crying." Heero said, surprised. "But why?" Duo looked away.

"I think I know." The American pilot said, looking at her picture thoughtfully. Then he reached out and cut Heero's connection. The other pilot disappeared from Heero's screen with an indignant cut-off grunt. Duo peered closer to the picture. Meike had stopped crying, and was watching something on her own screen. Duo leaned closer. She was watching… she was watching him!

Duo brought his hand up and waved at her. Meike grinned and waved back. Then she jumped.

"How is he seeing me?" she cried in her own Gundam, watching the other boy grin mischievously at her. Her eyes softened as she saw his smile. _Maybe he's not mad,_ she thought, and quickly restored her Gundam's original connections.

"What's up, Meike?" Duo asked jovially when her face appeared once more on his regular connection.

"I'm going to be exploring Heavymetal Butterfly's abilities. You guys can't be bothering me, okay?" she told him, and Duo nodded and gave her a small salute.

"Sure thing. But if I can ask just one question…?" Duo paused, and Meike nodded for him to go on. "Why were you crying?" Meike abruptly flushed.

"I – well, that is – you see…I wasn't crying." She finished lamely, and Duo's violet eyes twinkled merrily.

"That's what I thought," he said knowingly, and his face fled her visual screen, leaving her red-faced and blushing.

"Well." She said, clearing her throat just a bit. "Let's say we get started on updating you equipment, shall we, Heavymetal?" Her hands flew over the control keyboard, occasionally flitting upward to the console above her head or the panels at her side. "Microchips…" she muttered out loud. " You've sure got a lot of them." Lists of names began scrolling down a side window on her screen, and Meike pursed her lips as she sought out a single name.

"Aha!" she exclaimed as she picked out one labeled 'Display'. "Holographic… 3D… rotating… 100,000x magnification… this is definitely what I want." Meike activated the chip and was confronted with a blinking message that read, 'State Pointer Control.'

"Fingerprint." Meike said, and a smaller box appeared beside the first one. She pressed her pointer finger against the screen and a brief tingly feeling told her it was being scanned. Seconds later, a rotating, holographic miniature Gundam constructed itself out of thin air in front of her eyes. Meike rubbed her hands delightedly.

"Next microchip." Meike isolated the Voice Recognition chip and reactivated it. A bright voice immediately spilled out from a hidden speaker.

"Hello, Trowa!" it said, and Meike frowned.

"I thought I told you this before. I'm not Trowa, I'm Meike." She said, but the voice didn't respond. "Hello?"

"Information stored." The voice said after a long period of silence.

"Well, voice recognition is working. I have a command." Meike said, and paused.

"State command." The voice said woodenly.

"I want you to locate the Artificial Intelligence, Stored Response, and Advanced Command Recognition microchips. Activate the last two and upgrade the first to its maximum capability." Meike directed, frowning in thought. "I think that's it."

Yet another long silence passed, and then the stored voice said, "This will take approximately fifteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Proceed?"

"Yes." The German teenager said and leaned back in her chair, staring at her miniature Gundam holo. She closed her eyes briefly and thought, _I'll just relax until Heavymetal's done._

~

Fifteen minutes later Meike was startled out of her light sleep by the Gundams voice.

"Chips upgraded and activated." It stated.

"How long did it take again?" Meike asked sleepily.

"Fifteen minutes and thirteen seconds. Earlier than anticipated." The voice replied instantly. Meike grinned.

"It was worth it," she said, then clapped her hands. "What voice code are you?"

"Katherine Bloom, sister to the late Trowa Barton, former pilot."

"Uhrm." Meike frowned. "What other codes do you have?"

"I have the voice codes of my present voice, the synthetic Gundam voice, Trowa Barton's yours, and Relena Peacecraft." Heavymetal replied.

"Try the synthetic voice," Meike decided.

"Complete." A different voice spilled from the speakers, and Meike's face lit up. This voice was softer and deeper, with an unidentifiable accent meant to soothe the pilot's jangled nerves during combat.

"Perfect!" Meike cried. "Now let's get started on the holo. Isolate the Missile Identification area." The hologram in front of her began to grow at n alarming rate, twisting around and centering on a part in the back of the Gundams leg.

"Missile Identification is located in the back part of Heavymetal Butterfly's left leg. Placed here so as to avoid combat damage, the MI identifies missiles as either friend or foe, then assigns each one a threat value. A foe missile heading towards your Gundam is therefore assigned a much larger threat value than a foe missile heading for a fellow pilot. Even friendly missiles intended for the enemy are assigned such values, because there is always the remote chance of drive failure, identifications malfunction, and sheer coincidence." The Gundams matter-of-fact voice rolled over Meike as she stared intently at the piece of machinery in front of her.

"Magnify," she murmured, pointing at a specific area. A red dot hovered before her finger and moved when her hand moved. The area expanded as Heavymetal continued.

"Acting in coordination with MI is Gravitics. Gravitics determines the speed – or gravities – of any given missile in space. MI uses this information to determine threat values."

"Mm-hmm," Meike murmured. "Heavymetal, pause a moment and give me specs on this one chip." The red dot at her finger danced along a small crack in the armor. "How deep is this fracture?"

"Deep enough to cause minimal damage to the chip. As a result, the chip is not functioning to full capacity." Heavymetal replied.

"I thought as much. Find the Repairs folder." Meike said absently, still staring at the fracture. "What's available to repair this crack?"

"Normally a pilot will disable his or her Gundam for a short period of time and manually remove the chip, either replacing it or repairing it."

"Any other options?" Meike asked.

"Small probe-robots, know to the technologically fluent as probots, are available for emergency repairs for such events as fatal injuries during combat or unavailability to reach a repair base. However, the probots are relatively short-lived, and I carry them only in limited numbers." Heavymetal said, a small note of reprieve hidden in her voice.

"How limited?" The German pilot asked.

"A maximum of thirty." The voice responded.

Meike groaned. "You like to torment me, Heavymetal? We'll stock up once we reach another base. I intend to use these for repairing the chip and any other upgrades and repairs I might need. I intend to use them regularly." She sat lost in thought for a moment and began to speak again. "And then I'll need to get my hands on some other materials that I could use for some ideas I've been having. Let me run them by you and see how well they'll adapt."

Meike sat back once more and let her mind imagination run wild, testing ideas and theories, and time slipped away as she and her new Gundam began to find out just how well they worked together.

~end Chapter Six~

A/N: Well, I told you I'd have more up, didn't I? Sorry it's been taking so long. The evil Band is taking up my time. For those of you out there in a high school marching band, I commiserate with you. Plus, I'm an officer, so I have responsibilities, and bleeeeeeeeehhhhhh. Don't let my whining fool you though, I'm a band nerd at heart.

I also know I getting off track. I want to claim the genius for inventing probots. They're MINE, you hear me? Mine, mine, mine! One of my favorite words as a child. But more to the point, I thought them up, I own them, all your probots belong to me. If you ever wanna use them in a story of your own, (yeah right!) just email me and ask me. I'll just make you credit me at the end of the chapter you used 'em in.

I'd also like to nod my head towards the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. Gravitics was his idea, I think, all I did was manipulate it to my own liking. Missile Identification is also a play on his work. So don't sue me or anything, kay? I don't have any money. Alas.

Other than that, this Chapter is good to go and I hope you enjoyed it. This is the most work I've done on any project, ever. Even school projects. Says things about my priorities, but eh, who needs to do homework? I certainly do. I should start doing it more often. Well, ja ne till next time, minna-san.

~Melody-chan


	7. Welcome Home

Chapter Seven: Welcome Home

Chapter Seven: Welcome Home

~

"She has to have some technological background," Duo murmured to Wufei as he watched Meike pilot her Gundam across the large expanse of colony grass.

"Why do you say that?" Wufei asked, still not entirely at ease with the idea of a foreign girl commanding one of the most lethal inventions in human history.

"Look at the way she's flying it! Duo exclaimed. "You can't pick that sort of a knack for a Gundam in just hours. I'd say she's well-versed in technology, and she's probably got a few tricks up her sleeve we haven't even thought of. Heavyarms never flew that well, and Trowa was a damn good pilot." A trace of bitterness entered his voice at the loss of a good friend. Then his face brightened a bit. "Let's give her a ring." Duo reached a hand up to the control panel above his head and flicked a series of switches. Heero and Meike's faces blinked simultaneously onto his screen.

"What do you want, Duo?" Heero asked, frowning. Then he caught sight of Meike's face on his screen and his eyes widened in surprise.

Duo's reaction was a bit more obvious. "Holy hell!" He yelled, pointing at Meike's screen. "What on earth is that?" Meike looked up in surprise as his amplified voice rang through the cockpit.

"What?" She asked curiously, then looked down at her holo-image of the Gundam as Duo's bewildered stare registered. "It's a holographic projection of the Gundam."

"Holo- holo- holo_graphic_?" Duo stuttered, and even Heero and Wufei's looks were ones of disbelief.

"Yes, holographic." Meike told him in annoyance. "Haven't you seen a hologram before?"

"Never one in a cockpit." Wufei said, arching his eyebrows questioningly. "Where did it come from?"

"It's a program inside the Gundam database. You mean to say you've never used it before?" Meike said, and now it was her voice echoing with bemusement.

"I didn't even know we had such a thing!" Duo yelped, flabbergasted.

"Don't tell me you've never looked in your own Gundam for new programs." Meike said, frowning. "There's _hordes_ of things hidden in the database. Stuff I've never even thought of before, like the probots for repairing the Gundam, and especially the designations for the mental controls. That sort of thing can cut response times in _half_."

"Mental is absolutely right." He said. "How can your Gundam be controlled by your _thoughts_?" 

"You simply adjust it to respond to your brainwaves. It doesn't need any _neural_ connections or anything. Oh!" she cried in excitement, "I've also found you can turn the Gundams left thumb into an off-road motorcycle. Watch." She tapped on her Gundams holographic thumb, and it expanded to fill most of the holo. She tapped on the underside of the thumb, and two wheels came out. Handlebars extended from the front, and feet rest protruded from the sides.

"It's small – probably a drag racer." Meike said, looking closely at some writing scrawled along the side. "Good quality, apparently. I'll bet it performs well off road."

Heero coughed rather loudly, and Meike's head snapped up. She gave the other three pilots a guilty look. Then a small beeping noise rang through the pilots' cockpits, and the four teenagers looked simultaneously at their displays.

"We're nearing New Berlin." Heero said, glancing at his screen. "We'll land in the nearby forest, then proceed to the city on foot."

"On motorcycles, you mean." Meike corrected him with a grin, and Heero restrained himself from rolling his eyes. _She's almost as bad as Duo…_

~

In the forest not far from New Berlin, five gleaming motorcycles stood in front of the Gundam Pilots. Each was the color of its respective Gundam, except for Meike's. Hers was colored red and silver.

"How did you get it that color?" Wufei asked, inspecting the bike. Heavymetal Butterfly was still the same color of Heavyarms.

"She painted it for me." Meike said, gesturing at Heavymetal Butterfly. "Alright, let's test them out!" She grabbed the handles and leapt on to the seat, shouting, "Let's go, Heavymetal!" The motorcycle roared to life, and she circled around the Gundam pilots. Wufei, who rode a motorcycle as well, leapt onto his and reached for the ignition switch.

"It doesn't have an ignition switch," Wufei said, peering at the side of his motorcycle.

"It responds to your voice." Meike said, screeching to a halt beside him. "Just tell him to go." Wufei hesitated, then shrugged.

"Let's go, Nataku!" he roared. The motorcycle took off into the forest, and Wufei circled trees before turning and stopping before the rest of the pilots. Heero and Duo jumped on their own bikes, Duo with considerably more enthusiasm. They took off in the direction of New Berlin, Meike in the lead.

Soon they were driving past suburban homes along paved roads. All along the side were houses, built exactly alike.

"All the houses on this colony are identical!" Duo yelled as they zipped past house after house.

"L-6 is a brand new colony! This Side is only marginally inhabited!" Meike yelled at him, long brown hair flapping in the wind. Duo's braid bounced on his back as he lurched over small bumps and potholes. "Only a few more minutes, we're almost there!"

"Where _is _there?" Heero yelled at her, but Meike didn't answer. Seconds later, she screeched to a stop in front of another identical house. The three bikes roared to a stop beside her.

"My house." She said proudly. "You can stop, Heavymetal." The motorcycle's loud roar receded, and the other bikes died down as their owner deactivated them. "Come on inside." She gestured them inside the house.

~

Once inside, Meike let out a loud sigh and flopped down on a couch. The inside was much roomier that the house appeared from outside. "There're two bedrooms. Two of you guys can have a room, and I'll sleep out here with the other." She gestured at the two living room couches.

"Oh, Duo should sleep out here with you." Heero spoke up instantly, a glint of mischief dancing in his otherwise stony eyes. Wufei shrugged and paced into a small room, closing the door behind him. With an uncharacteristic wink, Heero did the same.

"You both suck!" Duo yelled at the closed doors. Grumbling angrily, he jumped onto the couch and began to get comfortable.

"I don't bite, you know." Meike told him. Duo looked up and scratched the back of his brown head awkwardly. Meike laughed. "Don't worry about it." She told him. "I'm going to take a shower. Then, we'll spend the night here," pointing at the darkening sky outside the living room window, "and get started in the morning." Duo nodded and closed his eyes.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat." He said. Meike nodded and stood up, walking to the bathroom door.

"You and I will be sharing this bathroom, okay?" She called, and Duo nodded.

"Okay," he called, and stretched out on his couch, resting his feet on the armrests. He closed his eyes for a second and tried to make his mind stop buzzing with questions. Why weren't her parents here? She was too young to have her own house. Why was she so familiar with modern technology?

And why couldn't he stop thinking about her?

~

A door creaking open woke Duo from his light slumber, and he twisted and sat up, blinking sleepily. He hadn't even realized he had drifted off, and he raised a hand in greeting as Meike exited the bathroom clad in a white, fluffy towel. Then he fell off the couch. 

"Ow!" he yelled, falling on his arm. Then he jumped to his feet. Meike was watching him in amusement, a bewildered look on her face. "You're wearing nothing but a towel!" he cried, pointing a finger at her. 

"So?" she asked. "At least I'm _wearing_ one." She padded over the room Wufei had entered and tapped lightly on the door. "Hey, Wufei!" She called.

"Yes?" Wufei opened the door with the expression of someone who hated to be bothered.

"You got my room here. I need to grab some clothes." Meike pushed through the doorway and ignored Wufei's purple-faced gawk as he noticed she was only wearing a towel. The Chinese teenager looked about ready to explode. He caught Duo's eye, and Duo shrugged helplessly.

"She's crazy," he mouthed silently, and spun a finger around his head in order to denote total insanity. Wufei gave him a look and flattened himself against the doorframe as Meike pushed by again. Duo found himself staring at her as she strode lithely through the room.

"_What_?" She cried indignantly as she saw him looking. Duo shook his head and turned, folding his hands across his chest. He heard the door of the bathroom close once more, and he let out a soft groan.

__

What are you thinking? He asked himself in disbelief. _Are you nuts? Do you really think it could work?_ He frowned angrily and looked at the floor. He couldn't really tell what he was thinking anymore. Then the bathroom door creaked behind him again.

"You've got more than a towel on, right?" Duo called. Meike, who was toweling her hair dry, was not at all naked. Grinning, she tossed her damp towel on Duo's head, and Duo let out a startled yelp. "_Please_ be dressed." He cried as he turned and looked over the edge of the couch. Meike glared playfully at him, her hands on her hips. She had on black boxers and a red and black plaid tank top. Her long brown hair hung in little ringlets across her shoulders.

"Of course I'm dressed. Your turn for a shower." She said, then grabbed her hair and began to comb it gently as she walked to her couch and sat down. Duo got up off his own couch and walked into the bathroom and closed the door. "Towels are beneath the sink!" she yelled through the wooden door. 

"Okay!" he yelled back, and stripped down to his boxers, but caught his reflection in the mirror. Leaning on his elbows, he brought his long braid in front of him and fingered it. "Maybe I should cut it." He said softly. "It _is _a little feminine." Duo bunched his hair behind his neck and looked at his face. "I guess I'd look okay with short hair," he mused. "But I've had it for so long… It'd be almost like cutting off my arm." Shrugging, he pulled the elastic off and pulled the hair apart, and tossed it over his shoulders.

~

That night, Meike couldn't sleep. She stayed awake and stared at the ceiling, wondering if he parents were still alive. Wondering if they had come back here and found her gone. Silent tears streaked her face, and she stifled a sob.

"Mm?" Duo said sleepily. He blinked in confusion for a moment, then rose on his elbows as he heard distinct sniffling sounds from Meike's couch. "Meike? Are you all right?"

"I –I'm sorry, Duo. I didn't mean to keep you awake." Meike tried to keep her voice normal, but her soft soprano wavered tremulously.

"What's wrong, Meike?" he asked, swinging his legs off of the couch and standing up. He knelt beside her couch and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" Meike turned away, her cheeks wet and her gray eyes glistening.

"It's nothing, Duo, really. Just go back to sleep." She said, pushing him towards his couch. Duo didn't budge. Instead, he sat down on her right, crossing his arms. Meike looked down at her lap.

"Oh, come on, Meike, you can tell me!" he said. The German teenager didn't look up. Duo brought his hand up and laid it softly on her left cheek, pulling her face to look him in the eyes. "You're a Gundam pilot now. If you're going to stay a pilot, you're going to be our friend." Meike nodded slowly and took a deep breath.

"It's my parents," she began softly. "They… they're gone, somewhere, and I don't know if they're alive." She tilted her head up and traced a finger at the thin white scar across her slender throat. In the near darkness, it seemed to shine. "I got this from a Vampire, along with a concussion that seems to have receded. I was too badly wounded to be taken with my mother and father to wherever the nearest safe camp of Resistance fighters. They left me in a small, hidden room beneath the house, but being the fool that I was, I left it." Meike

"That's terrible!" he said. "Why did you keep it from us?" Meike looked down at her lap again, and her tears dripped off her cheeks onto her bare legs.

"I didn't want to bother you." She said softly.

"Bother us?" Duo asked in disbelief. "How could you think you were bothering us?"

Meike said nothing.

"Oh, Meike!" Duo exploded. "Do you have any idea how close we are? I mean, sure, Heero's stuffy and Wufei is a woman-hater, Trowa is – was – cool, and Quatre wants to be everyone's best friend, but in between all the animosity and glaring and the ragging on each other, we're close." Duo let out a small sigh. "You're becoming a part of that closeness, whether you like it or not. You're a Gundam pilot." Duo looked her straight in the eyes. "And you have a responsibility as such." The American teenager's violet eyes softened. "That means you tell us _everything_. Got it?"

Meike have him a small nod, gratitude shining in her eyes.

"Got it." She whispered, and Duo put an arm around her shoulders. They sat in silence for a moment.

"Duo? Did you really mean to tell you everything?" she asked in a guarded voice, and Duo nodded without any hesitation. "Then… then I want you to follow me." She stood up, slipping out of Duo's arm, and held out a slim hand.

~

A/N: Yes, yes, Alora-chan, I know this wasn't in the original. But before I started this work, you remember I told you about that one idea I had? Well, ta-da! Enjoy the next chapter. ^-^"

~Melody-chan. Meow!


End file.
